live-performance

3 posts with the tag “live-performance”

Chord Sheet Formatting for Live Performance

Jan 14, 2026

Gigmeister

A chord sheet that is easy to read in your living room can become impossible to read on stage. Between dim lighting, a music stand two feet away, and the pressure of a live performance, formatting matters more than you think.

Here is how to format chord sheets that actually work when it counts.

The Problem with Most Chord Sheets

Chord sheets you find online are formatted for screens, not stages. They have tiny text, inconsistent spacing, chords jammed between lyrics with no clear alignment, and way too much content on a single page. Printing one of these and putting it on your music stand is a recipe for squinting through half your set.

Good stage chord sheets share a few qualities: large readable text, chords positioned unambiguously above the lyrics they belong to, minimal clutter, and no page turns mid-song if you can avoid it.

Bracket Notation

The most reliable way to embed chords in text is bracket notation. Place the chord name in square brackets at the exact position where it falls in the lyric line:

[Am]Sitting on the [G]dock of the [C]bay
[Am]Watching the [G]tide roll a[C]way

This format is clean, unambiguous, and works consistently across rendering engines. Every chord is clearly tied to a specific word or syllable. There is no guesswork about where the change happens.

When rendered, the brackets are stripped and the chords appear above the lyrics, aligned to the exact character position. Gigmeister uses this bracket notation throughout — you type chords inline and they render with correct positioning automatically.

Chords Without Lyrics

For instrumental sections, chord-only lines work with the same bracket syntax:

[Em] [G] [D] [A]
[Em] [G] [D] [A]

Section Labels

Mark sections clearly so you can jump to any part of the song at a glance:

[Verse 1]
[Am]Sitting on the [G]dock of the [C]bay

[Chorus]
[G]Sitting on the [Em]dock of the [C]bay [D]

Keep section labels consistent across all your songs. If you use “Verse 1” in one song, do not use “V1” in another. Consistency means your eyes know what to look for.

Two-Column Layout

Longer songs can run to two or three pages, which means page turns during performance. A two-column layout solves this by fitting more content into the same vertical space.

Two-column works best when:

• The song has more than 20 lines of content
• You are reading from a tablet or a landscape-oriented screen
• You want the entire song visible at once without scrolling

It works less well when:

• The song has very long lyric lines that wrap within a column
• You are on a narrow phone screen

Gigmeister supports two-column layout as a per-song toggle. Enable it in the song editor and the chord sheet splits into two columns automatically.

Font Sizing and Readability

On stage, you are typically reading from 2 to 4 feet away. Here are practical guidelines:

Tablet on a music stand (2-3 feet): 16-20pt for lyrics, 14-18pt for chords. Most tablets handle this well in portrait mode.

Laptop on a keyboard stand (3-4 feet): 20-24pt minimum. You have more screen real estate, use it.

Printed sheets on a music stand: 14pt minimum for lyrics. Bold the chords or use a contrasting color if printing in color.

Phone on a mic stand clip: Honestly, avoid this if you can. If you must, use the largest font that fits and strip everything except chords and section markers.

The rule of thumb: if you have to lean forward to read it, the font is too small.

Transpose Without Rewriting

Different instruments, different keys. Your vocalist wants the song in Eb, your guitarist learned it in E, and your keyboard player can play in anything but prefers concert pitch.

Per-user transpose solves this cleanly. Each band member sets their own transpose offset for each song. The underlying chord data stays the same, but everyone sees the chords in their preferred key.

This is far better than maintaining multiple versions of the same chord sheet. One source of truth, personalized display. Gigmeister handles transpose per user — your +2 semitone offset does not affect what your bandmates see.

Stripping Content by Role

Not everyone needs the same information:

Vocalists mostly need lyrics with section markers. Chords are visual noise.

Instrumentalists mostly need chords and structure. Full lyrics get in the way.

Consider offering both views from the same source. A “hide lyrics” mode shows only chord markers and section labels. A “hide chords” mode shows clean lyrics. Same chord sheet, filtered by role.

AI-Assisted Chord Sheets

If you are starting from plain lyrics and need to add chords, AI can speed up the first draft significantly. Paste in your lyrics, and AI analyzes the harmonic structure to place chord markers.

A few caveats:

• AI-generated chords are a starting point, not a finished product. Always review for accuracy.
• Complex jazz harmony, unusual voicings, and slash chords trip up AI models regularly. Expect to correct these.
• Simple pop, rock, and folk songs with standard progressions get surprisingly accurate results.

Gigmeister Pro includes AI chord sheet generation that outputs bracket-notation chord sheets you can edit immediately.

Formatting Checklist

Before you take a chord sheet on stage, run through this list:

• Font size: Readable from your performance distance?
• Section labels: Clear and consistent (Verse, Chorus, Bridge)?
• Chord placement: Unambiguous — every chord aligns to the right word?
• Length: Fits on one page or screen without scrolling? If not, use two-column.
• Transpose: Set to your instrument’s key?
• Clutter: Stripped out tab notation, comments, and other studio-only content?

Get Started

Build your chord sheet library with bracket notation, per-user transpose, and two-column layout. Create a free Gigmeister account or read the full chord sheet documentation for setup details.

Tags:

• chord-sheets
• live-performance

Building the Perfect Setlist: A Musician's Guide

Jan 10, 2026

Gigmeister

A great setlist is not just a list of songs. It is a plan for how you are going to take an audience on a ride over the course of a night. The difference between a band that gets rebooked and one that does not often comes down to how well the set flows — not just what songs you play, but the order you play them in.

Here is a practical framework for building setlists that work, whether you are playing a 45-minute opening slot or a four-hour wedding.

Start Strong, Finish Stronger

Your first song sets the tone. Pick something the band plays confidently, that gets energy into the room quickly, and that does not require a long intro or buildup. You want to make a statement in the first 30 seconds.

Your last song is what people remember. Save one of your strongest tunes for the closer. If you are doing an encore, the real closer is the encore — the song before it just needs to make the audience want more.

The Energy Curve

Think of your set as a wave, not a straight line. The energy should rise and fall intentionally:

Opening block (songs 1-3): High energy. Establish the vibe. Get the audience engaged. These should be songs you could play in your sleep.

Mid-set dip (songs 4-7): Bring it down slightly. This is where you can put a ballad, a deep cut, or a song with a longer instrumental section. The audience needs contrast to appreciate the highs.

Build back up (songs 8-10): Ramp the energy again. Each song should be a small step up from the previous one.

Climax and close (last 2-3 songs): Your biggest songs. Maximum energy. Leave everything on stage.

For multi-set gigs, apply this pattern to each set independently. Each set should have its own arc.

Key Transitions

Playing three songs in a row in the key of G is fine musically, but it can start to sound monotonous. Vary your keys across the setlist. Some transitions that work well:

• Same key: Works when the tempo or feel changes significantly
• Up a half step or whole step: Creates a natural lift in energy
• Relative major/minor: Smooth transition (Am to C, Em to G)
• Fourth or fifth: Strong, satisfying movement (C to F, G to C)

Avoid awkward jumps like tritone intervals (C to F#) back to back unless you have a clear transition planned. A few seconds of silence or stage banter can reset the listener’s ear between songs that clash harmonically.

Tempo Pacing

Tempo is as important as key for flow. Three fast songs in a row will exhaust the audience (and the band). Three slow songs will lose the room.

A good rule of thumb: alternate tempos in groups. Two uptempo songs, then a mid-tempo, then a ballad, then back up. The exact pattern depends on your setlist length and the venue.

For dance bands: your audience needs tempo variety to catch their breath. Nobody dances for 90 minutes straight. Give them peaks and valleys.

Timing Your Set

Know exactly how long your set needs to be and plan accordingly. Add up song durations, then add transition time between songs:

• Tight transitions (straight into the next song): 5-10 seconds
• Normal transitions (brief tuning, count-in): 15-30 seconds
• Banter breaks (talking to the audience): 30-60 seconds

For a typical 45-minute set of 10-12 songs, you will lose 3-5 minutes to transitions. Plan for it.

The Setlist as a Living Document

Your setlist should evolve with every gig. After each show, note what worked and what did not:

• Did the energy dip too long in the middle?
• Was there an awkward key change that needed a longer transition?
• Did the audience respond better than expected to a particular song order?

Use this feedback to refine your next setlist. The best setlists are not built in one sitting — they are iterated over dozens of gigs.

Get Started

Build your setlists with drag-and-drop ordering, automatic duration tracking, and section markers for multi-set gigs. Create a free Gigmeister account or read the full setlist documentation for setup details.

Tags:

• setlists
• live-performance

How to Use MIDI Program Changes in a Live Band

Jan 7, 2026

Gigmeister

If you play keyboards, guitar effects, or any MIDI-capable instrument in a live band, you have dealt with the scramble of switching patches between songs. You are mid-set, the last chord of “Take Me to the River” is still ringing out, and you need to get from your Rhodes patch to a synth pad before the intro of the next tune. Fumbling through menus on stage is not a good look.

MIDI program changes solve this. Here is how they work and how to set them up for a seamless live show.

What Is a MIDI Program Change?

A MIDI Program Change (PC) message tells a device to switch to a specific preset. It is a single byte value from 0 to 127, giving you access to 128 programs on any given MIDI channel.

When you send PC 42 on channel 1 to your keyboard, it loads program 42. Simple enough. But most modern instruments have far more than 128 presets, which is where bank selection comes in.

Bank Select: MSB and LSB

The MIDI specification added Bank Select messages to extend beyond the 128-program limit. Bank selection uses two Control Change (CC) messages sent before the Program Change:

• Bank Select MSB (CC 0): The “coarse” bank selector. Values 0-127.
• Bank Select LSB (CC 32): The “fine” bank selector. Values 0-127.

Together, MSB and LSB can address up to 16,384 banks, each containing 128 programs. That is over two million possible patches — more than enough for any device.

The message sequence always goes in this order:

1. CC 0 (Bank MSB) — select the bank group
2. CC 32 (Bank LSB) — select the specific bank
3. Program Change — select the patch within that bank

Some devices only use MSB, some use both MSB and LSB, and some ignore bank select entirely. Check your device’s MIDI implementation chart to know which messages it expects.

MIDI Channels

MIDI supports 16 channels per connection. Each musician’s gear typically lives on its own channel. A common setup:

• Channel 1: Main keyboard (piano, Rhodes, organ)
• Channel 2: Synth (pads, leads)
• Channel 3: Guitar multi-effects processor
• Channel 4: Backing track trigger

This isolation means one program change message will not accidentally switch patches on another player’s gear.

The Problem with Manual Patch Changes

On a typical gig night, you might play 20 to 30 songs. If you have two MIDI devices, that is 40 to 60 patch changes. Do any of these manually and you will eventually:

• Load the wrong patch
• Miss the intro of a song while scrolling through presets
• Forget which program number goes with which song

The answer is automation. Store the correct program change for each song, and let software send the messages as you advance through the setlist.

Setting Up Automated Program Changes

The basic workflow for automating MIDI program changes on stage:

1. Document Your Patches

Before you touch any automation, make a list. For every song in your repertoire, write down which patch you need on each device. Be specific: device name, bank number, program number, and the patch name for reference.

2. Configure Your MIDI Routing

Connect your devices via USB-MIDI or 5-pin DIN cables to your tablet, phone, or laptop. Make sure each device is assigned to a unique MIDI channel.

3. Assign Programs to Songs

In your setlist software, assign the correct bank and program number to each song for each device. When you advance to the next song in your setlist, the software sends the program changes automatically.

4. Test Before the Gig

Run through your entire setlist at home or in rehearsal. Verify every patch loads correctly. MIDI numbering is notoriously inconsistent — some manufacturers number programs starting from 0, others from 1. A program listed as “001” on your keyboard might be MIDI program change 0.

Device-Specific Quirks

Every manufacturer handles MIDI slightly differently:

• Nord keyboards use a lettered bank system (A:11, B:23) that maps to specific MSB/LSB combinations
• Line 6 Helix expects Bank MSB for setlist number and PC for preset within that setlist
• Kemper Profiler uses CC 0 for performance slot and PC for rig within it
• Boss GT-1000 uses Bank MSB/LSB pairs that map to user and preset banks

This is where pre-configured device profiles save you hours of reading MIDI implementation charts. Gigmeister supports 49+ devices out of the box with correct bank/program mappings already set up.

Per-Song Configuration

The most practical setup is one where each song in your library has MIDI programs saved for each device. When you build a setlist and start performing, advancing to the next song triggers all the right patch changes at once.

In Gigmeister, you configure this in the MIDI tab of each song. Select your device, pick the program by name (no need to memorize numbers), and you are done. During performance, swiping to the next song or pressing a foot pedal sends all program changes simultaneously.

Foot Pedal Navigation

Hands-free navigation is critical for performers. Map a MIDI CC message from a foot pedal to advance songs in your setlist. This way, your hands stay on the instrument and your patches change automatically as you step through songs. Learn more about MIDI foot pedal controls.

Tips for a Reliable MIDI Setup

Use short cables. Long MIDI cable runs introduce latency and data errors. Keep cables under 15 feet when possible, or use USB-MIDI for direct connections.

Send program changes early. Some devices take 100-500ms to load a patch. Advancing to the next song a beat early, or using software that sends changes during the transition, prevents audible gaps.

Have a backup plan. If your MIDI rig fails mid-gig, know how to manually select your most critical patches. Write the top five on a piece of tape stuck to your keyboard.

Test with your full rig. MIDI issues that do not appear with a single device can surface when you add a second or third device. Test everything connected together.

Getting Started

If you want to stop fumbling with patches on stage, set up MIDI automation in Gigmeister. Add your devices, assign programs to songs, build your setlist, and let the software handle the rest. Read the full MIDI documentation for setup details and supported devices.

Tags:

• midi
• live-performance